“Rumi has the reputation of tinkling wind-chimes, but at the center is the pain of separation, both personally with Shams of Tabriz, and the human condition of separation with God.”

Brad Gooch returns to the show to talk about his new book, Rumi’s Secret: The Life of the Sufi Poet of Love (Harper). We dive right into Brad’s Orientalist fantasy of researching Rumi and the realpolitik that intruded on it (including getting detained at gunpoint), how he recreated the polyglot, multi-religious culture of 13th century Turkey (hint: it involved having to learn Farsi), the temptation to psychologize Rumi’s life, why the poet’s work has survived all these centuries (and what makes it so tweetable), what his own new fatherhood taught him about Rumi’s later years, and more! Give it a listen! And go buy Rumi’s Secret!

“There’s a little method actor in me when it comes to biography writing.”